Taiko no Tatsujin is a terrific rhythm game with only two inputs. With a red dot, you use drumsticks to hit a plastic taiko drum in the centre. With a blue dot, you hit the drum on the rim. With this extremely simple setup, they have been creating wonderful musical experiences for over 20 years.
Taking this for inspiration, we have crafted a variety of exercises for balloon drum and “double-dot” rhythms. Don’t have a drum? Build a set, slap your knees, tap a table, or stomp your feet; a person can play along on a variety of instruments or objects.
3 bit
There are 8 possible patterns by grouping notes into 3s. In this video we play through all the patterns at a couple of different speeds.
4 Bit
There are 16 possible patterns to build out of 4 bits. For the music theorists out there, this drill switches from duple to triple meter and back.
5 Bit
There are 32 possible patterns to build from 5 bits. Playing these at the fast speed will take practice. Count along in binary!